A Young Adult Book Blog

Antigoddess

Antigoddess

Old Gods never die… Or so Athena thought.

But then the feathers started sprouting beneath her skin, invading her lungs like a strange cancer, and Hermes showed up with a fever eating away his flesh. So much for living a quiet eternity in perpetual health.

Desperately seeking the cause of their slow, miserable deaths, Athena and Hermes travel the world, gathering allies and discovering enemies both new and old.

Because Hera, the queen of the gods, has aligned herself with other of the ancient Olympians, who are killing off rivals in an attempt to prolong their own lives. But these anti-gods have become corrupted in their desperation to survive, horrific caricatures of their former glory. Athena will need every advantage she can get, because immortals don’t just flicker out.

The Goddess War is about to begin.

Review:

When I first heard about Kendare Blake’s Antigoddess, I knew I needed to have it. I’m a huge fan of Greek mythology, and Athena and Hermes are two of my favorite gods and goddesses in Greek mythology. How could I not read this book? While it isn’t quite as good as Rick Riordan’s Percy Jackson series, it is sure to satisfy those who have a fondness for mythology.

Athena is an immortal goddess. She’s not supposed to die. But then the feathers started sprouting beneath her skin, invading her lungs like a strange cancer.

The feathers were starting to be a nuisance. There was one in her mouth, tickling the back of her throat. She chewed at it as she walked, grabbed it with her molars and pulled it loose. Warm, copper-penny blood flooded over her tongue. There were others too, sprouting up inside of her like a strange cancer, worming their way through her innards and muscle.

Alongside her, Hermes is willowing to a skeleton; a fever eating away at his flesh. Desperately seeking the cause of their slow, miserable deaths, Athena and Hermes travel the world, gathering allies and discovering enemies both new and old.

And they need all the help they can get, because Hera has aligned herself with other ancient Olympians, who are killing off rivals in an attempt to save their own lives. The Goddess War is about to begin.

Kendare’s characters are extraordinarily well developed; and it’s clear that she has researched their myths inside and out. Each character is given their own personality; but above all it’s clear the inspiration of their behaviors comes from the Greek myths they reside from.

Athena was by far the highlight of the story: she satisfied my need for a strong heroine, and then some. She is just like I’ve always imagined her Athena to be – strong, intelligent, strategic, and willing to stand up for what she believes is right, even if she is a little bit prideful at times (Arachne). I wish Blake focused just a bit more her powers of wisdom and strategy instead of her prowess in battle; but she was still excellently depicted.

All in all, I really did like Antigoddess – besides the few minor problems I had with it. I’d highly recommend it to fans of Greek mythology and gory stories.